Volume 18 Number 1 |
Winter 2005 |
The Rock Run Christmas Bird Count was held on Monday December 27, 2004 and 28 birders scoured the countryside for avian species. The weather was the coldest and windiest the winter could offer. There was an almost steady 20 mph wind all day with gusts of 25 to 40 mph. The wind definitely interfered with owling in the early AM. Skies were mostly sunny but temps stuck in the low 20's all day. Streams were open, but ponds were partly to completely frozen. The ground was frozen which made it easier to traipse over fields. Once again there was a paucity of birds. We only managed 92 species for a total of 30,001 individual birds. Dam coverage was a good news, bad news situation. The good news - we had access; the bad news - there were very few gulls.
Six groups went owling, but only 2 groups found Great Horned and E. Screech-Owl. No Barred Owls were heard all day. Three hardy birders even gave it a second try during the evening and could only turn up 2 additional Screech-Owls.
1. Oakwood: This was one of 2 areas covered by the Cupps', Jon Sr. and Jon Jr. (34 species) including the only Horned Larks of the day and 1 of only 2 teams to find Bonaparte's Gull. A Red-headed Woodpecker was a great find.
2. Rowlandville: not covered.
3. Colora: Tom Congersky counted in his own backyard this year. (26 species) including the counts only Red-breasted nuthatches (5).
4. Bainbridge: The Perrypoint team cross-covered this area as well.
5. Perrypoint: Russ Kovach, Dave Ziolkowski, Karen McDonald and Joanna Rawlings. (69 species) Covering 2 territories this group not only had the highest count of the day, but also had the only Ring- necked duck (15), Lesser Scaup (10) and the only White-crowned Sparrow (1).
6. Swan Creek: John Gallo, Frank Gallo, Arlene Oley and Bill Burchett (56 species) New to this count, this team covered 2 territories. (See Aldino) Two individuals traveled from Connecticut and New Jersey. They found the only Snow Geese (200) and Wild Turkey (9) on the count. Bravo!
7. Havre de Grace: Rick Cheicante & Dave Larkin (56 species) * This veteran pair found the only N. Pintail (2), Gray Catbird (1) and Brown Thrasher (1). (cont. on page 2)
8. Aldino: The Swan Creek team moved on for the afternoon (33 species). Their combined species equal 59. Highlights of the afternoon territory included Yellow-rumped Warbler (1). They also found 1 of the 6 Mute Swans seen on the count.
9. Susquehanna: Mark Johnson (40 species) The weather was certainly a factor in this usually birdy area. Still good numbers of Common Goldeneye (22), Golden-crowned Kinglet (30) and American Tree Sparrow (6) were seen. Two additional E. Screech owls were found in the evening after the rally.
10. Rolling Green: Dave Webb & Jean Wheeler (46 species) The Peregrine Falcon was the bird of the day for this group. An immature Red-headed Woodpecker was also a good bird.
11 a. Deer Creek: Bill & Mary Jo Collins (36 species) This team found 1 of only 3 Kestrels on the count. They also had the only Fish Crow on the count. 11 b. Darlington: Jon Cupp Sr. & Jon Cupp Jr. (37 species) In their second territory this Father-son team found a Common Loon and the only Pine Warbler. Way to go!
11 c. Conowingo Dam: Gene Scarpulla & Beth Olson & Cathy Brodo & Shannon Schade (Students CCC) (28 Species) The number of Gulls at the dam was disappointing with only 3 species seen. At least we had access.
12. Dublin: Tom Trafton (37 species) This area saw the highest number of N. Flickers (22). American Tree Sparrows numbered 3.
13. River Flats: Dennis & Kristin Kirkwood, Gary & Barbara Pensell & Colleen Webster (48 species) Small craft warnings kept this nautical team ashore. Still they found more species than they had last year. Some highlights include: Double-crested Cormorant (2), Canvasback (200), Bufflehead (300) the only Ruddy Duck on the count, American Coot (40) and Savannah Sparrow (5).
Even though the weather was brutal and birds were scarce, a good time was had by all. Once again we ended the count at Lorna Wortman's for hot stew and homemade bread. Thanks Lorna for hosting the "tally rally". Thanks also to her daughter Adele for making all of the bread.
Next year's CBC will be on Friday December 30, 2005. Mark your calendars! Jean Wheeler
See a spreadsheet of the results.
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The start of each new year marks an opportunity for new beginnings. Birders like no others really look forward to January 1 as most surely start some kind of a new "year" bird list, albeit yard, county, state, etc. Likewise, at the beginning of each calendar year, I always like to consider enhancements to the Wrenderings format. And now, finally, after a 5 year tenure as editor, we have a new(er) Wrenderings.
First, the unobvious. I converted Wrenderings from its old computer program to a more modern program. The old program worked fined, but required a more cumbersome approach to formatting. The new program, however, is freer in its technical approach and has a lot more artistic license available in a self- contained package.
The result! In going with a quarterly format (plus Summer Social supplement) to better facilitate information coordination, distribution and event timing, we were able to convert the absorbed costs into better production. In addition to going to a center-bound 11 x 17 layout, the printing is now of much higher quality. The good news! We can now run photographs - so get the cameras out at events and on field trips and get some shots. Rick Cheicante
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The 8th Annual GBBC is slated for the weekend of February 18, 2005. To participate, logon to www.bird source.org/gbbc.
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The HBC is invited to reserve an exhibit space at the Earth Day Celebration at the Aberdeen Festival Park on Saturday, April 16, 2005 from 11 AM to 4 PM. Our exhibit is an opportunity to tell the community about our club, recruit members and to talk about birds. It is always fun to meet people of all ages who have bird watching stories to share. Please join us for this public relations effort. We will need volunteers from the bird club to work at display 3 or 6 hours. Please call Debby Stewart for details and to volunteer.
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| March 4 | March Dinner Meeting |
| March 12 | MOS Board Meeting |
| March 16 | Deadline: Harford Birdlife |
| March 23 | Deadline: Wrenderings |
| May 6 | Spring Meeting |
| May 14 | May Count |
| July 15 | Summer Social |
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President's Message - The January meeting was a great success, and if you missed Hank Kaestner's presentation, you missed something special. Once again Hank regaled us with his adventures and the birds he saw while buying spices. He has been in over 123 countries and his life list is over 6500! Over 50 bird enthusiasts were enthralled. We hope to have Hank return next year.
Our March 4 meeting is a dinner meeting. Please try to attend. Our speakers will be our very own Dr. Dennis Kirkwood and Jean Kirkwood who will present the birding Specialties of Trinidad and Tobago. Jean and Dennis will be leading a trip in the summer to these island countries. It is a great introduction to tropical avifauna.
For dinner before the meeting,see the reservation form on the next to last page of the newsletter.
Annual awards will be presented at the meeting. Jean Wheeler
Vice President - Colleen Webster and Debby Stewart are developing a weekend retreat for women who have been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. The goal of the program is to provide an alternative means of coping with survivorship issues and to offer support and encourage recovery. The participant will have an opportunity to restore well being, to get away from thoughts of illness and treatment, and to find her place in the natural world. The weekend will include bird watching, flower identification, observation and writing and other ways to link oneself to the natural world.
Debby, a nurse and health educator at Johns Hopkins Breast Center presented the idea at January dinner meeting. She asked for approval and support from the Harford Bird Club and was warmly received. The program is in the early planning stages. Hopefully, it will be presented by April, 2006. More details will follow. Debby Stewart
Treasurer - Almost five months into the membership year, we have 139 paid members. Our bank account balance is $4700, of which $3252 is earmarked for specific projects, leaving $1448 in the chapter general fund. Joyce Gorsuch
Conservation - A few months ago state agencies circulated a list of state-owned properties that could be considered either surplus or lands that were considered difficult to administer - including a piece of land at Susquehanna State Park as well as our own Hidden Valley section of Rocks State Park. When I heard about this, I immediately paid a visit to the Rocks State Park office to learn of the situation in some detail, and also made some calls to folks I know at DNR in Annapolis. Following these inquiries I concluded that these properties stood very little chance of being sold to private parties - to do so would be extremely unwise politically - and the public would never stand for it. However, I called the Harkins administration to let them know that if the state did try to unload any of these properties, we would have to be ready to acquire them at the county level. I am satisfied that these properties are safe, but vigilance is an ever-needed trait in the land business.
On another note, funding for the state's open space programs has been severely cut over the last several years, and no one yet knows what to expect from the legislative session. I have made the Harford Bird Club a member of Partners for Open Space and encouraged the organizers to have each county chapter join as individual partners. I met with the staff of The Trust for Public Land, which is a lead organization of the Partners, and encouraged them to consider birders to be among the most avid users of state open space, and therefore among the most ready to participate in activities to make this constituency known. So, Harford birders, please respond positively if I give you a call! Happy birding requires adequate habitat! Debbie Bowers
Welcome New Members - The Harford Bird Club would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members:
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Early in November, a flock of 8 Cave Swallows at Cape May, New Jersey raised hope among Maryland listers that this rare vagrant would make an appearance in The Old Line State. Sure enough, on Nov 26 a pair was photographed and identified at Lilypons, Frederick County. Over the next two weeks, a rash of Cave Swallows ranging from single birds to flocks of 12 were seen in Montgomery, Talbot, Wicomico, Prince George's and Baltimore Counties. And on Dec 5, KG reported Harford County's first-ever Cave Swallow hawking insects in a 10-acre field at his Jarrettsville property. The bird was observed for about two minutes before flying off - never to be seen again. Another rare visitor made a brief appearance just prior to sunset on Dec 21. While stuck in a traffic jam along U.S. 40 just north of the Little Gunpowder River, PP caught a brief glimpse of a pair of Sandhill Cranes flying to the northwest! [The reports of these two rarities stress the importance of taking notes, sketches or, when possible, photos of species that require documentation by the Maryland Ornithological Society's MD/DC Records Committee.]
Elsewhere around the county!
WATERFOWL: Two Cackling Geese mingled amid a flock of approximately 700 Canada Geese from the first week of Dec until the end of the reporting period at a farm pond in Bradenbaugh (DK). Snow Geese were also found mixed in with large flocks of Canada Geese at several locations across the county: Bradenbaugh (3, DK, Nov 16 - Dec 12), Fulford (2, BG, Nov 19), Forest Lake (1 blue phase, JG & BG, Nov 19), and Spesutie Narrows (1, DW, Dec 14). Exclusive flocks of Snow Geese included 40 flying over Fulford (BG, Nov 21) and 80 over Webster (DW, Jan 9). APG's Mute Swan population continues to swell as DW tallied 27 in the Spesutie Narrows (Dec 9) and 38 on the Bush River (Jan 11). Also at APG was an impressive count of 165 Tundra Swans on Spesutie Island's Back Creek (DW, Dec 9). JG counted a dozen Tundra Swans feeding in a cornfield at Swan Harbor on Jan 12, and the next day MA uncovered the same number (perhaps the same flock?) 1 miles to the north at Tydings Island.
JBC noted 7 species of dabbling ducks at Swan Harbor on Jan 15, including 5 American Wigeon, 3 Northern Pintail, 2 Northern Shovelers, and a lone Green-winged Teal. DW found several large rafts of diving ducks including 160 Ruddy Ducks, 220 Canvasbacks and 245 Ring-necked Ducks (Spesutie Narrows, Dec 9); another 400 Ring-necks (Otter Point Creek, Dec 10), and approximately 1800 Lesser Scaup (Bush River, Jan 11). Inland, 10 Ring-necks stayed on a Bradenbaugh farm pond from Dec 3 to Jan 15 (DK). On Jan 2, JG spotted a single Canvasback on Otter Point Creek, the same location where JBC found a lone Greater Scaup drake on Jan 15. Surprisingly, the largest merganser flocks reported were of Hooded Mergansers: DW counted 54 of them in the Spesutie Narrows (Dec 14), and JBC saw 25 on Otter Point Creek (Jan 15). Common Merganser reports included 10 on Otter Point Creek (JBC, Jan 15) and a pair along the downtown Havre de Grace shoreline (CW, Jan 3).
GAMEBIRDS & RAPTORS: Most of Harford's sightings of Wild Turkeys hail from the Broad Creek, Deer Creek, or Little Gunpowder River valleys. However, the only report for this period came from near the Stoney Forest Demonstration Area, where a flock of 7 turkeys visited MLP's property - one of the birds even perched atop the roof of their house. The only inland Bald Eagle noted was a flyover at Fulford (JG & BG, Nov 21); CS had a high count of 5 eagles at APG-EA (Nov 29). PP spied a Northern Harrier at Lakeside Business Park (Jan 9), as did JG at Swan Harbor 3 days later. On Jan 10, MW & dw heard the courtship calling of two Red-shouldered Hawks at Webster, where this species has bred every year for at least a decade. On the same day, CW observed a pair of Red-tailed Hawks hunting over a farm field at Level. A light-phase adult Rough-legged Hawk, the rarest of our buteos, was spotted flying over Reckord Road Park on Dec 28 (JG). CS identified a Merlin at APG-EA on Nov 29, and on New Year's Day, MJ was surprised to see a Merlin fly over his Glen Elyn backyard.
RAILS, GULLS & TERNS: The high count of 10 American Coots came from Tydings Island on Jan 13 (MA). The Voice of the Naturalist, a telephone hotline of rare bird sightings in the Mid-Atlantic region, reported that an adult Glaucous Gull was at Conowingo Dam on Dec 12. The warm waters of the Bush River near the mouth of Sod Run hosted a flock of 85 Bonaparte's Gulls on Jan 11 (DW). An late trio of Forster*s Terns were discovered sitting atop an abandoned pier at Spesutie Narrows on Dec 9 (DW).
WOODPECKERS: Reports of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers included 1 at a Bel Forest backyard for most the reporting period (HB), at Copenhaver Park (PP, Jan 4), and 2 along the Greenway Trail at Susquehanna SP (CW, Jan 9). Also on Jan 9 at "Susky", CW discovered a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers; another pair of Pileateds entertained birders at Constant Friendship on Jan 6 (JMA). The only Red-headed Woodpecker noted was an immature bird at a feeder in Level on Dec 26 (DW).
FLYCATCHERS, CROWS & LARKS: DW heard an Eastern Phoebe in his Webster backyard on New Year"s Eve. Fish Crows are often underreported, so it is nice to learn that MA came across 5 of them on Jan 13 at Tydings Island. The World Famous Bradenbaugh Flats upheld its reputation for "field birds" with the presence of 4 Horned Larks on Jan 14 (DK).
NUTHATCHES, WRENS, THRUSHES & MIMIDS: The influx of Red-breasted Nuthatches noted early in the fall of 2004 quickly fizzled, as the only report of this species was of a single bird seen throughout the period in the Bel Forest community (HB). Winter Wrens were widely noted, with single birds at Harford Glen (PP, Nov 17), a backyard near Susquehanna SP (LE, Dec 9), and Copenhaver Park (PP, Jan 5). CW witnessed a mixed flock of both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets totaling about 10 birds at Susquehanna SP on Jan 9; she also reported seeing two nice-sized flocks of Eastern Bluebirds: about 20 birds at Heavenly Waters Park (Dec 30 & Jan 11), and a dozen at a farm in Level (Jan 10). Harford Glen hosted a pair of Hermit Thrushes (PP, Nov 17), while DB attracted one to her backyard birdbath in Street on Jan 15. LE recorded the only Gray Catbird at his home near Susquehanna SP on Dec 12.
SPARROWS, BLACKBIRDS & FINCHES: JBC and PP both noted pairs of our handsomest winter sparrow - Fox Sparrow - at Harford Glen (Nov 17) and Swan Harbor (Jan 15), respectively. Throughout the reporting period, DZ noticed "megaflocks of blackbirds" - mainly Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbirds fly over Joppatowne in the late afternoon as they returned to their nocturnal roosts in the marshes of the Gunpowder River. On Dec 17 shortly before sunset, EL watched in astonishment as a seemingly endless procession of southbound blackbirds passed over her home in Jerusalem. The wave of early-autumn "winter finches" seemed to have carried further south as Purple Finches were limited to feeders at Webster (DW, 2 on Nov 26 and 1 on Dec 20) and near Susquehanna SP (LE, 3 on Dec 9); the only Pine Siskin noted was a single bird ground-feeding at Webster (DW, Nov 28). Although House Finches are most associated with mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, two observers noticed symptoms of this disease in single American Goldfinches at their feeders (LW, Scarboro, Dec 3; DW, Webster, Jan 15). Birds afflicted with this disease are identified by crusty and/or swollen eyelid(s), which impairs their vision and allows humans to approach them closely. Although the disease itself is not fatal, affected birds are easy targets for predators or they may lose so much weight that they succumb to other stresses. To help curb the spread of conjunctivitis, wildlife researchers recommend that feeders be cleaned and disinfected weekly.
And finally, on Dec 17, GF watched an immature Red-tailed Hawk devour a Eastern Gray Squirrel right smack in the grassy median of Joppa Farm Road. The hawk was alert to the presence of traffic whizzing by, and hardly flinched when an oblivious pedestrian deep into her cellphone conversation walked within 15 feet. The Redtail did not take wing until its meal was complete. Now that's one hungry bird!
CONTRIBUTORS: John & Michelle Amoriello (JMA), Matt Anthony (MA), Harold Boling (HB), Debbie Bowers (DB), J.B. Churchill (JBC), Les Eastman (LE), Greg Futral (GF), Becky Gallo (BG), John Gallo (JG), Kevin Graff (KG), Mark Johnson (MJ), Dennis Kirkwood (DK), Emma Lewis (EL), Mark & Leanne Pemburn (MLP), Phil Powers (PP), Chris Starling (CS), Daniel Webb (dW), Dave Webb (DW), Marsha Webb (MW), Colleen Webster (CW), Linda Weeks (LW), and Dave Ziolkowski (DZ).
Please email your sightings of the usual and the unusual to Dave, or snailmail them to Dave Webb, 4141 Quail Way, Havre de Grace, 21078. Please remember to include the date, location, and (approximate) number of birds observed. The timeframe for the next column is Jan 16, 2005 thru Mar 15, 2005.
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J. Hammond Brandt
In Memoriam - Long time bird club member J. Hammond Brandt (88) passed away on November 22, 2004. Hammond and his wife of 42 years, Thirza, regularly attended dinner meetings until recently. They always had some interesting bird sightings from their home in Upper Falls.
Hammond was a nurseryman and landscape designer, running the family business J. W. Brandt Nursery Co. He had a gentlemanly nature and was known for his habit of wearing a necktie even while digging up trees. Besides gardening and birdwatching, Hammond enjoyed photography, canoeing and camping.
Hammond was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II serving mainly in Guam.
We will miss this gentlemanly birder and extend our sympathy to his loving wife Thirza. A donation to the MOS Sanctuary fund has been made in his name.
In Memoriam...
Nathaniel Kirkwood
In Memoriam - On November 20, 2005 Nathaniel "Jack" Kirkwood (82) father of Dennis Kirkwood passed away. Mr. Kirkwood's farm, Newark has been in his family since 1763 and has been designated a bicentennial farm, one of four in Harford County. His farm was also one of the first in the county to be enrolled in the State Agricultural Preservation Program, permanently preserving it from development. Bird Club members have enjoyed many happy times birding on the farm.
Mr. Kirkwood farmed most of his life. After leaving farming full time he enjoyed traveling throughout the "country, visiting all 50 states. He will be remembered as a "gentle man. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Norma, his son Dennis, two daughters and eight grandchildren.
We extend our sympathy to the family.
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Field Trip Schedule
by Dave Ziolkowski
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